The past two South African grape seasons started promisingly, but this year the tone is more cautious," Jan Rozema of Prime Fruit Partners observes. "Europe has been in the market longer than in previous years. In addition, more Peruvian and Brazilian grapes entered early in the season, partly due to U.S. tariffs and large stocks in California. This combination is also impacting South Africa and Namibia. More fruit is expected to go to the local market in the first few weeks."
Lots of arrivals in Rotterdam in week 51
"Strong winds also caused significant delays in vessel loading in weeks 46 and 47. This led several ships to bypass Cape Town due to the delays and congestion. The fact that Walvis Bay began loading as early as week 46 contributed to the early arrival of grapes in the EU and the UK. However, these delays will cause a considerable number of vessels to arrive in Rotterdam in week 51," the importer continues. "It is expected that promotions will be planned to keep volumes under control," continued. It is expected that promotions will be planned to keep control over volumes."
© Prime Fruit Partners
"In the first weeks, mainly the traditional varieties have been shipped, such as Early Sweet, Prime, Flame, and Arra13. Other varieties such as Timco, Celebration, Arra15, and Arra29 will mainly be harvested in weeks 49 to 51. From the Western Cape, we can expect more new varieties such as Sweet Globe, Autumn Crisp, and Sweet Celebration. Arra35 is the newest variety, planted on a very small scale in South Africa."
Slight growth in exports
"Overall, we see that the northern province will have a smaller export volume due to unfavourable weather conditions. But we see potential growth in all growing regions, and if the weather is favourable during the packing season, our suppliers expect a small increase in total exports (2 to 4 per cent)," Jan concludes. SATI data shows that South Africa exported 78.17 million boxes (4.5 kg) last season. The current estimate is 79.4 million boxes, a growth of 0.6 per cent.
© Prime Fruit Partners
Prime Fruit Partners has now been operating for seven months. From 1 May, Jan Rozema and Christian Bras, with a combined 40 years of experience in international fruit trading, joined forces. After a successful South African citrus season, they are looking forward to the grape season with confidence.
For more information:
Jan Rozema
Prime Fruit Partners
T: +31 615 003001
[email protected]
www.primefruitpartners.com
